[Pork-free] If you’re looking to take a break from street food in Penang, check out Shokudo Niban.
Located at the historic Hin Bus Depot, Shokudo Niban serves Japanese-inspired tapas in a casual setting.
Shokudo Niban at Hin Bus Depot
Brought to you by the team behind Au Jardin and Basil, Shokudo Niban offers small plates, yakitori, and donburi in a casual setting.
In fact, this restaurant was recommended by a few local Penangites when we were there a few months ago.
We recommend making reservations as the restaurant was full on a Friday night.
Small plates
As Shokudo Niban specialises in Japanese tapas (or Japas), most of the items on the menu are served on small plates.
We enjoyed the Chicken Karaage Pao Burger (RM13) more, as we found the freshly fried chicken karaage to be crunchy. The bun was also soft, with the crispy seaweed providing crunch, and the mentaiko sauce served on the side.
We also recommend the Okonomi ‘Fried Rice’ Croquettes (RM20). The rice croquettes were well-breaded and flavourful, and we particularly enjoyed the pickled onions and bonito on top.
We found the Chicken & Leek Yakitori (RM7) to be rather ordinary, and the Agedashi Tofu (RM12) to be decent.
Unagi Kabayaki Ochazuke
From the donburi section, we settle for the Unagi Kabayaki Ochazuke (RM28) – broiled unagi served with rice, oba, tempura bits, and matcha.
This was our favorite dish of the meal.
As unagi fans, we really enjoyed the broiled eel as it was sufficiently fatty and well-seasoned. The recommended way to enjoy the bowl is to pour the matcha dashi into the rice bowl and mix it with the crispy tempura bits and spring onions.
We enjoyed the combination of textures and flavours, with nuttiness from the sesame seeds. We actually found the dish very comforting and “homey”.
The dashi was light (we guess it was made with kelp and bonito) with hints of matcha.
Tempura mochi
We ended the meal with Tempura Mochi (RM12), as recommended by the waiting staff. This was surprisingly good – the mochi was warm and gooey with a nice tempura coating and served in a sweet brown sugar sauce.
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Shokudō Niban
Address: Hin Bus Depot, 31A, Jalan Gurdwara, 10300 George Town, Penang
Hours: 12pm-3pm, 5pm-9pm Daily
Phone: 017-812 1526
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shokudonibanpg/
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